The life of Pokemon, the ultimate reunion
by hookfang550
Summary: Welcome, to the ultimate reunion. Ash and his friends, all the way from Unova, to Kanto. Ash, Dawn, Iris, misty, May, Cilen, Brock, and more are getting together. And, a new face. A mysterious trainer appears in a battle against Team Rocket, and sends them 'Blasting of again'. When Ash tries to talk to him, the young boy disappears. Find out who this trainer is and more, In Pokemon


**(u02d2) Summary **

Erik Erikson was a student of Freud who eventually proposed his own theory of personality development. According to Broderick and Blewitt (2010) Erikson deemphasized the id as being the dynamism that drives all behavior and instead focused more on the cogent processes of the ego. Erikson's theory focuses on the psychosocial facets of behavior (or outlooks and emotional state) toward the self and others in order to explain why individuals behave the way they do. Erikson's theory describes eight psychosocial stages that reflect his view that a person's identity continues to develop or evolve throughout the life span.

In the scenario given Karen is at Erikson's stage of intimacy vs. isolation. This means that at this point in her life (young adult hood) there are two outcomes possible according to Erikson's theory. The positive outcome is successfully forming close relationships and sharing her identity with others, thus developing the fundamental quality of love. Lyngzeidetson (2010) suggested that the central task in this stage is caregiving and the successful outcome is gaining the ability to make the commitment to a lifelong partner; which goes hand in hand with the development tasks of this stage (marriage and child rearing). However, if she is unable to successfully resolve crisis in this stage, the negative outcome is developing a fear of intimacy and isolating her from others. Marcia (2006) showed this fact through the use of a quote from Erikson that stated, "where youth does not resolve such strain [of intimacy], he may isolate himself and enter, at best, only stereo-typed and formalized interpersonal relations, or he may. . . seek intimacy with the most improbable partners." This could quite possibly be the reason for Karen's failed relationships that she is seeking out partners who are improbable therefore creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, in that she goes in to the relationships expecting them to fail and they do, due to her fear of intimacy and unresolved crisis.

The fact that Karen is not successfully overcoming the crisis in the intimacy vs. isolation stage can also be in part to the unsuccessful resolution at previous stage(s). This fact appears to be the consensus within the cohort due to the text and research of this stage. For instance, Broderick and Blewitt (2010) stated that, "the successful resolution of a crisis at one stage helps smooth the way for successful resolutions of future crisis. Unsuccessful resolution at an earlier stage may stall progress and make maladaptive behavior more likely."

One aspect of the scenario that I had not previously considered that was brought up by cohort member Rebecca Hesch was that through doing therapy in a group setting it will help Karen to resolve her crisis and be able to successfully complete the stage of intimacy vs. isolation. This is due in part to getting the support that she needs, but also through building successful relationships. This in turn will translate into additional successful relationships in both her personal and professional life.

(Dana Lennon)

**References**

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2010). _The lifespan: human development for helping professionals_. (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Lyngzeidetson, A. E. (2010). _Quick study psychology development: essentials of development over human lifespan including psychical, cognitive, social and personal development through stages and more (Suppl.)._ Boca Raton, FL: BarCharts, Inc.

Marcia, J. E. (2006). Ego identity and personality disorders._ Journal of Personality Disorders, 20_(6), 577-96. Retrieved from . . /docview/195239041?accountid=27965


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